Asian Cup 2027 hosts Saudi Arabia have no objection to Russia joining Asian Football Confederation
- Joining AFC would mean Russia play World Cup qualifiers against Asian teams, and club sides take part in Asian competitions
- ‘If Fifa and the AFC allow it and there’s a benefit for Asia then I don’t think there’s a problem with that,’ Saudi Arabia’s sports minister says.
After being confirmed as hosts of the 2027 Asian Cup, Saudi Arabia said it would not object to Russia joining the Asian Football Confederation, as Russian officials search for ways to return to international competition.
Russian officials dangled the possibility of a move to Asia in December, following Russia’s ban from international competition by European body Uefa over the invasion of Ukraine.
Although the Russian Football Union later called for a working group on resuming ties with Uefa, Russian Football Union chief Alexander Dyukov did not rule out seeking AFC membership at a later stage.
Speaking at the AFC Congress in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia’s Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal said he did not see a problem with Russia shifting allegiances to Asia.
“If Fifa and the AFC allow it and there’s a benefit for Asia then I don’t think there’s a problem with that,” he said.
Joining the AFC would mean that Russia would play World Cup qualifiers against Asian teams and that its club sides would take part in Asian competitions.
